The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Nagpur Police has arrested ICICI Bank Branch Manager Pankaj Kekatpure and bank appointed gold valuer Nandu Kharwade in connection with Rs 23 crore fake gold loan scam, in which counterfeit gold ornaments were allegedly used to obtain loans from the bank. The arrests mark a major development in the investigation into one of the city’s biggest banking frauds in recent years. The fraud first came to light during a routine gold loan audit at ICICI Bank’s Manish Nagar Branch. During the inspection, officials found that several ornaments pledged by borrowers were fake.

 

This prompted the bank to conduct a detailed audit of gold loan accounts across other branches in the city. A wider audit uncovered a well-planned fraud involving 159 loan accounts across nine ICICI Bank branches in Nagpur. Investigators found that loans worth more than Rs 23 crore had been sanctioned against counterfeit gold ornaments between January 2023 and October 2025, resulting in a substantial loss to the bank. Police said the scam was allegedly carried out with the connivance of bank officials, valuers, auditors and several account holders. Fake ornaments were allegedly certified as genuine during the valuation process, allowing borrowers to secure gold loans that they were not entitled to. Besides Kekatpure and Kharwade, the FIR names account holder Sachin Raut, auditors Rajendra Shilankar, Pramod Tete, and Dhananjay Dhomne, along with around 152 other account holders who are suspected to have played a role in the conspiracy. Rajendra Shilankar and Pramod Tete were arrested earlier in the case.

 

With latest arrests, the total number of accused taken into custody has gone up to four. A case was registered by Dhantoli Police on the complaint of Dhananjay Ramesh Thite (49), Zonal Head of ICICI Bank’s Nagpur Zone. The accused have been booked under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by banker), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The arrests were carried out by API Santosh Tokalwad and his team under the guidance of DCP (Detection) Deepak Agrawal. EOW officials said the investigation is continuing and role of every accused is being examined. Investigators are also tracking the money trail and verifying involvement of the remaining account holders and other officials who may have facilitated the fraud. Police indicated that more arrests are likely as the probe continues.